The Confrontation
by atlee
Summary: A quick scene that I kind of wanted to see in the finale, between the rescue and going after Shaw.


_Just a quick "missing scene" from the finale. If I owned 'Chuck' I'd keep better track of these scenes so they don't get lost so easily. Maybe put my initials on them or something. _

**The Confrontation**

Ellie was still shaking from the action of the day when she parked the SUV in her usual parking spot. Everything that she had thought she knew about the lives of her family, even her own life, was a lie. She was living in a new world now. Her father was a spy. Her brother, someone she had spent so much time worrying over, hoping that he would find a purpose in life, was a spy. And now her father was dead, and they would have to run, give up their own lives. But she would do it. She would do it because it was Chuck.

But she needed to understand.

As she left the car, Chuck went off to meet with John Casey in his house. This gave Ellie time to confront the person who could give her answers.

* * *

"You and I need to have a talk."

Sarah Walker turned around, her eyes only briefly displaying any surprise. Ellie could see how she had been misled by the CIA agent for three years. Sarah pushed aside the bag she was packing and sat down on the bed she now seemed to be sharing with Chuck. She finally spoke. "Ellie."

"You have lied to me the entire time I've known you." Ellie struggled to keep the anger out of her voice. "Pretended to be my brother's girlfriend. You were one of my bridesmaids. You wore my mother's bracelet." Ellie looked down, noticing that while she wasn't wearing it now, Sarah had placed the bracelet in her bag.

"Ellie, I…" Sarah began again.

"I want you to tell me everything." Ellie slowly entered the bedroom, approaching the other woman. "I want you to explain to me why you turned my sweet little brother into one of you people. Explain why my entire family, including my own husband, has been lying to me. Explain why my father is dead." Ellie fought back the tears.

"Ellie, they haven't told you because they've been protecting you."

"I know that. I know they are worried for me. That's why I know I can get the truth from you, somebody who means nothing to me."

Ellie had hoped her words would have an effect, but was still surprised when she saw Sarah flinch at them.

"I don't know everything," Sarah admitted after a few moments. "Things started…well, your father, a long time ago. And then there was Bryce Larkin…"

"Wait, Bryce Larkin was a spy too?" Ellie slowly sunk down to the floor, seated by the door. "Bryce Larkin from Connecticut?"

"I only became Chuck's handler after Bryce had brought him in. I was his protector, Ellie. So was Casey."

This made Ellie feel only slightly better. "So all the time you spent with Chuck, being his girlfriend, coming to my house for dinner, that was your job?"

"Part of it. If it helps, I hated lying to you nearly as much as Chuck did."

It didn't. Not really. "And all the times you went out, you were actually going on missions."

Sarah nodded.

"And when Chuck wasn't around when he promised me would, that was because of missions."

"He hated disappointing you. He wants nothing more than for you to be proud of him."

"All the disastrous dinners I've had, that was because of missions too?"

"Some of the time. Other times, I think it was because you invited Morgan to them."

Ellie smiled in spite of herself, before her eyes narrowed. "And my wedding, forgetting the rings? The sprinklers?"

"Enemy commandos."

"All this time. All those lies. You've lied to me about who you are, what you do, and how you felt. And you've made Chuck lie to me."

Sarah straightened. "Yes, Chuck has lied to you. And you can blame me for that as much as you want. Chuck wanted to tell you everything, but he knew the only way he could keep you safe was if he didn't. As much as he hated it. Chuck will do anything for the… people he loves."

Sarah stood up, and took a step towards Ellie, who found herself pushing herself back against the wall. "If anything good can come out of all of what's happened, it's that you can finally see Chuck for how amazing he is. Because, believe me, he is. You have no idea what I've seen by working with your brother. Every mission, every time I saw him willing to risk everything for what he believes in, every time he saw the best in people that everyone else was ready to give up on, every time he managed to keep believing the best in people even though we see the worst, day in day out..." Sarah swallowed, and took a moment to compose herself.

"You're right about me lying to you too. And you every right to not trust me ever again. But when I tell you that I love Chuck, like… I've never loved anyone in my life, I'm telling the truth."

Ellie looked away from the piercing blue eyes gazing back at her. She knew she shouldn't but she did believe the blonde agent. "So all of this is…" she waved her hand at the house that Chuck now shared with Sarah.

"Is very long overdue," Sarah admitted. "I want Chuck to be happy more than anything. And even if he is a spy now, he's managed to do it while still being Chuck. He's still the brother you know and love."

"But how can he be safe? Can you guarantee me that?"

"No," Sarah admitted. "But I can promise that nothing is more important to me than protecting him."

Ellie looked over at the bedroom dresser. Standing to one side was a childhood picture of her, standing outside with her arm around her brother. "I was protecting him first," she finally said, awkwardly.

"I know. And I know that a lot of why Chuck is who he is, that's because of you."

Ellie accepted the compliment with a slight nod, and watched as Sarah returned to her packing. With everything that she'd said, she wanted to trust her. But she couldn't ignore the firearms that the CIA agent was putting into her bag alongside the bracelet. "I'm still going to do everything I can to protect him, you know. Even if it has to be protecting him from you."

Sarah looked up. "You won't have to."

Ellie finally stood up. "I am proud of him. I always have been. But… I can't face the possibility of losing him." She walked out of the room, and outside back into the springtime sun. She sighed. It was all too much. She could never accept Chuck working for the CIA. But she had to admit, Chuck had at last found the right girl.

Ellie looked over at the house next door, and realized she had one other person she needed to talk to. She could see him talking to her brother through the window, the cuts and bruises still visible on his face. She sighed, realizing this wouldn't be an easy one either. For a moment, she wondered if Hallmark made "I'm sorry I hit you with a frying pan" cards.

She definitely was living in a new world now.


End file.
